Strategies for Effectively Launching Medical Device Products

As a healthcare executive in the competitive medical sector, I aim to propel transformative health tech and medical device products into market-leading products.

North America represents the largest market for medical devices. In fact, the medical devices market will likely reach USD 980+ billion by 2031 from USD 560+ billion in 2022.

So, your product needs to get traction to launch successfully and achieve a positive outcome for patients and stakeholders. If your product is not gaining traction, it’s because you have built a product that the world may not need, or the messaging is not on point for your target audience.

And if your product isn’t making many leaps and bounds in your chosen market, guess what? You may not make much impact in launching it to the market or offering it to customers.

Navigating Product Development & Marketing Concerns & Challenges

Challenges arise in the early stages of rolling the product out and the time it takes to succeed the approval process and secure buy-in from customers and key stakeholders. If people fail to respond back and you’re experiencing hurdles in navigating the purchasing process….

….Or you’re not achieving certain types of thresholds using the right KPIs, then it could be your product’s presentation, pricing, or reimbursement.

Top challenges include planning, communications, deployment, and follow up.

A successful product launch is measured by the return on investment, adoption, market share, customer satisfaction, and/or awareness.

Every department must work in sync to achieve the goal.

Carve Out A Vision & Mission: Unique Value Proposition

We all want empowering patient care outcomes. Carving out your vision and mission drives your purpose – it comes first – and sets the foundation for the rest of your plan.

• Do you know your value proposition?
• How will you justify bringing that innovative technology when many other variables are at play?
• For example, are you decreasing the length of hospital stay by launching your specific medical product or service?
• Are you adding revenue through some DRG or a CPT code?

 Weigh the Costs

Realistically, our healthcare system cannot always secure new technology because it’s the right thing to do for the patient.

Other factors are neglected, like aging buildings and renovations that must be completed promptly so healthcare teams and experts can function at their peak.

The amount of capital needed for hospitals right now is so intense, and it is outside of just surgical equipment. So, we must first ensure proper lighting, clean floors, functional A/C units, and stringent security protocols for efficient operations.

All this costs significant money.

The irony:  Many healthcare executives get zealous about launching their new product.

Yet, they aren’t even aware of all the capital expenses involved and the tremendous support that is needed beyond this product.

As the CEO, you’re raising funds, you have investors, and you have hard-working employees. You should be excited – you’re doing the right thing for the patient, for society, and for national healthcare. Still, as an early-stage founder, you may be short-sighted if you have not thought about these variables in detail.

You need to consider the whole picture when introducing new technologies, including marketability and revenue potential.

Key Question: Are you bringing a genuinely marketable product that can drive ample revenue for you to keep the doors open and make everyone successful?

That may be a tough question to answer, but one worth asking in the early stages.

Do the Extra Work

Some medical executives think that they need to do years of work for a successful medical product launch.

I say, yes, roll up your sleeves and do your research – plan thoroughly.

However, it does not have to take a few years, which would incur hefty time and costs. The extra work might be only an additional 90 days.

So, speak to the experts who know what it will take to get through FDA clearance. Even if you have raised some capital, you must present the product to ALL the stakeholders who will sign off on it, bring it in, and then offer honest feedback.

Be prepared – you will likely make some tough decisions – but in the end, it will be worth it.

Pitch to Investors & Secure Funding

Here’s the often dreaded question – funding. So many pitching opportunities out there to investors. So many questions to address:

CEOs need to focus on solving a specific problem and demonstrating return on investment.

• If you are an experienced CEO, consider, how have you raised capital before?
• Are you self-funding as a founder, CEO, and then trying to raise extra funds?
• Are you canvassing family and friends? VCs? Family offices?

The way you would pitch to a family office is quite different than pitching to a private equity firm or VC.

Know the audience, tailor the pitch accordingly to due diligence approaches, and focus on the team’s track record and technology’s growth prospects.

• Who is the team that is going to propel this product from where it is today to the next stage? Do they have a support system?
• What successes have they had in the past to show that they have a track record to do this?

In the early stage pitches, it’s critical to address the technology, the funding, and how you will use it, without getting overly technical and scientific.

Be Bold: Get Real Market Feedback

The truth is that some CEOs/leaders may disregard bad news or avoid difficult conversations.

Never be afraid to get constructive, honest feedback. An astute professional can translate feedback into service improvements that customers expect and need, which spells profit.

The hospital physicians or other experts may tell you realistically, “Hey, this is great, but this part of your narrative is missing, or this is the data you need to reach the next stage.”

The point: Get specific about whom you are going to speak to.

Tips:

• Don’t just go after a large academic institution or a community hospital.
• Secure insights from different types of physicians – you need to “feel” the market out and find the right market.
• Test the results thoroughly, observe, and document.
• You’ve got to win in a small amount of the market first within efficient timing.

The key: Get enough proper feedback from different physicians before launching too quickly or garnering support. That’s where the hurdles happen if you fail to consider the “what if’s”.

• What happens in one procedure varies from 20, 30, or more?
• What does the internal/external customer support program look like? Are you equipped to take on these?
• What happens if the product fails?
• What will the contingency plan look like?
• How do you train the people on all these different variables?

Solution: You need to be ready for all these possible scenarios and start building up a high-performance team that can effectively support these customers’ diverse needs.

Build the Right Team

Medical product launch goes beyond just getting real market feedback and building that early stage of a handful of accounts or physicians. It’s about understanding your vision and mission, and expanding it with the right team that is aligned with every step of the product launch and confident and adaptable in their roles to navigate possible challenges easily.

Moreover, it’s about partnering with the right hospital system or procurement team and letting them uncover your plan’s gaps and strengths for continuous improvement.

Medical executives often fail to set up that feedback and look for customer support. Maybe you get your first five or 10 in your LMR, but the question is:

• How are you going to support them?
• What will they need?
• What happens after the early wins at your first purchase or first case?
• Do you have the right customer-focused people and systems to support these accounts?

Several questions will be asked, including one very critical one:

• Do you have a feedback loop for support to take all that information back, synthesize it internally, and pivot to refine and grow from it and scale?

The bottom line: Be bold, and courageous, and operate with humility and integrity.

Consider A Limited Market Release, Phase Zero Approach

So, you are at the point where you have a product that will be used in a clinical setting. You have selected a limited number of customers with whom you have conversed. They understand your UVP and the technology.

And your customers are willing to produce honest feedback. It’s an amazing feeling!

A funny thing starts to occur when you ship a product for the first time and think you have prepared so well.

Even though it’s healthcare, it’s a very controlled environment.

You get a question – and the unexpected happens – sometimes followed by a series of puzzling incidences – you think you never thought you would get that question, or an issue occurs on the final production line. And it’s time to quickly pivot with a unique solution or even a different path!

When things start to happen suddenly, you’re scrambling! Sales teams are trying to fix things or enlist engineers for support overnight. It can be expensive and can hurt your reputation in the market.

The LMR is a new messaging or sales approach you can implement into your overall strategy for scalability. It involves testing and validation, building it out further, and planning for the hiccups and nuances before it escalates. For instance, failing to plan out your whole sales process will ultimately impact your revenue, your investors, the board, and multiple stakeholders.

This process involves spending time with customers in the field and engaging in face-to-face interactions as you scale. Keep a pulse on the market and customer feedback for refining processes and driving better decision-making.

Bottom line: Slowing down to resolve all the possible obstacles to speed up is necessary for success.

Invest in Videos

 These days, high-quality videos significantly impact branding the product, presenting information, and extracting KPIs to find out how often customers are reaching out, sales cycle time, and others. Whether using AI tools or creating a blog or LinkedIn weekly, there are unique ways to capture the target audience.

People don’t always want to take the time to read a manual; instead, they want to be guided  step by step. Customers are visual – quite savvy in how they digest information. Presenting information in a clear, visually appealing deck is crucial for high-net-worth investors.

Deploying the right technology, message, tone, and presentation is invaluable. Fine-tuning presentation quality is an integral part of captivating the audience.

Practice makes perfect.

When customers reach out, they want to receive “white glove service” with efficient after-hours technical support. While a distinct social media strategy can be costly and requires funding, it will gain market share and demonstrate loyalty and accessibility to customers that will pay off long term.

Evaluate and Refine Processes

When meeting with the first 10 and 20 customers, keeping tabs on sales and operations at the executive level is important. Evaluate and improve your processes.

Look at each opportunity and each new technology, and consider:

• How often should we assess this technology?
• What is the KPI needed? The KPIs help gauge whether the technology meets its goals, delivers value, and operates efficiently. For instance, system uptime, response time, user adoption rate, adaptability or scalability, cost metrics, user satisfaction, and others.
• Is a formal survey or framework required for future decision-making to ensure that customers, the sales team, and key stakeholders are satisfied with the final product?

That’s how growth happens.

An effective CRM system can manage sales cycles, quotes, and closes to optimize and maintain smooth operations. A well-managed CRM can do wonders; a lacklustre one can impact sales operations and performance – big time.

Consistently Protect Your Brand

Ensure that you protect your IP and your brand and competitive advantage, driving market exclusivity, and preserving innovations, which is essential for any healthcare medical device.

Stay updated on your market, the competitors’ brand and approaches, and ensure you meet regulatory requirements. Seek patent protection and management as early as possible.

Manage trademarks and trade secrets, and facilitate regulatory compliance to safeguard your innovations and position your product for a successful market introduction.

Regular monitoring, strategic IP enforcement, and effective management of IP assets, along with licensing and partnership considerations, training, cybersecurity measures, and accurate reporting, will help ensure long-term protection and commercial success.

Conclusion

Successfully launching a medical product on the market is not easy.

It requires strategic planning, cross-functional teamwork, and regulatory compliance.

Medical executives can manage the complexities of product launches and achieve timely success by developing a clear product vision, navigating regulatory requirements, and implementing solid marketing and distribution strategies.

With a focus on continuous evaluation and adaptation, while staying informed on evolving product and industry trends, the path to a successful product launch becomes more manageable and rewarding.

You’ve got this.
Stay in action (the right ones),
-Steve Sapot